Nonprofit entities promoting open innovation and integrated value disclosure driven by intellectual capital

Purpose This paper aims to analyse how the integrated value created by nonprofit entities (NPEs) promoting open innovation (OI) can be disclosed in the light of intellectual capital (IC) theory. Design/methodology/approach The research combines the literature on IC, OI, nonprofit reporting and integrated reporting (IR) with an interventionist case study of an Italian foundation operating as a promoter of OI, proposing three integrations to the International Integrated Reporting (<IR>) Framework. Findings Our findings show that the reporting logic of nonprofit promoters differs from that of conventional firms because a material part of value creation occurs outside organizational boundaries. The evidence supports separate disclosure of internal and external outcomes, cautious use of stakeholder-based transaction proxies for selected external IC-related outcomes and treatment of IC as the organizing capital connected with other capitals. Research limitations/implications The quantification of the social value generated by nonprofit entities is characterized by inherent evaluative difficulties; consequently, the proposed monetization logic is partial and depends on explicit attribution and boundary assumptions. Besides, our study focuses on the specific sector of OI. Further research could usefully investigate the opportunity to disclose integrated value, particularly by applying the framework proposed here, within NPEs operating in other fields. Practical implications The paper offers a disclosure framework for nonprofit managers, standard setters and policymakers seeking disciplined reporting of mission-related value creation. Social implications The results show that more disciplined disclosure of the value created by nonprofit promoters of OI can strengthen accountability, improve resource allocation and make visible the role of IC in innovation ecosystems. Originality/value The study offers a theory-generative extension of prior nonprofit IR research by showing how IC and OI jointly operate as a source of quantifiable added value in NPEs and by specifying the safeguards required for any monetary representation of external outcomes.